Oklahoma
Sam Landry, Kasidi Pickering lead Oklahoma to game 1 win over Alabama
The Oklahoma Sooners (49-7) took game one from the Alabama Crimson Tide 3-0 and are one win away from advancing to the Women’s College World Series. Sam Landry threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out five to move to 23-4 on the season.
Oklahoma’s bats provided just enough offense in this one as Kasidi Pickering joined Gabbie Garcia atop the Sooners’ home run leaderboard with her 18th home run of the season. It was Pickering’s 10th home run in her NCAA Tournament career, spanning just 45 at-bats.
The home run came in the bottom of the third after Abigale Dayton’s lead-off walk. Pickering swung at the first pitch from Alabama starter Jocelyn Briski to give Oklahoma the lead. With Landry dealing, that’s all the offense the Sooners would need but they got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth from freshman Sydney Barker drove in Dayton, who doubled to start off the inning.
Landry only allowed one Alabama hitter to reach third base throughout the game. That came in the top of the fifth inning when Lauren Johnson advanced to third on a fly ball. Oklahoma’s ace proceeded to strike out Alabama slugger Kali Heivilin, who was batting .373 with 14 home runs on the season.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the Oklahoma Sooners, dating back to the final day of the regular season. They beat LSU and Arkansas in the SEC tournament and then swept through the Norman Regional.
With a win over Alabama on Saturday, the Sooners can clinch their ninth-straight Women’s College World Series berth. A loss to the Crimson Tide will force a game three on Sunday. Saturday’s game begins at 2 p.m. CT at Love’s Field in Norman.
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The Oklahoma State Cowboys have an 18-game Big 12 losing streak and a two-year streak with no bowl game. The two things go hand in hand.
The Cowboys must win at least six games to get to a bowl game. That means winning, at minimum, three conference games, assuming OSU wins all three non-conference games. Lose a non-league game and the Cowboys must win four.
Oklahoma State is 4-20 since reaching the Big 12 Championship game, losing to Texas and then going to the Fiesta Bowl. If the Cowboys want to turn things around under first-year head coach Eric Morris, getting to a bowl game is a good first step.
This bowl projection should make the Cowboys feel good.
Oklahoma State’s Optimistic Bowl Projection
Athlon Sports’ 2026 football annual is on newsstands and in its Big 12 preview the publication picked the Cowboys to finish in eighth place. The publication didn’t provide a projected record. But the teams in the eighth-place range in the Big 12 last year all won at least six games, meaning they went to a bowl game.
So that meant Athlon’s is projecting the Cowboys are good enough to go bowling this year, which means they’re going to end their Big 12 losing streak and get out of the conference’s cellar. Good news. But where?
The publication has the Cowboys meeting former Big 8 rival Missouri in the Texas Bowl in Houston. If that’s the case it would be Oklahoma State’s fourth trip to a bowl game in Houston, including the 1983 Bluebonnet Bowl at the Astrodome. It would also say something about where OSU stands in the conference.
Recently, the full bowl game schedule was released and the Big 12’s bowl game pecking order was also announced. Of the league’s non-playoff bowl tie-ins, the Texas Bowl is No. 3 on the list behind the Alamo Bowl and Pop Tarts Bowl. These tie-ins would apply to Big 12 teams after the College Football Playoff participants are decided.
The Cowboys would go third in this scenario. BYU, the team picked second, would go to the Alamo Bowl, while Houston, which is projected to finish third, would go to the Pop Tarts Bowl.
Why take OSU if you’re the Texas Bowl? That bowl committee may be banking on the infusion of offense making the Cowboys an exciting team to watch this season, which would be enticing to any bowl game committee. Morris runs the Air Raid offense and imported the key players from his former job, North Texas, where they went 12-2. That includes quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
But by taking OSU, that committee would be taking the Cowboys over Utah, Kansas, Arizona and Arizona State, all teams projected to finish better than Oklahoma State. The Texas Bowl would be banking that the Cowboys would be a better draw.
For context, Houston played in the Texas Bowl last season, won the game and wrapped up a 10-win season, if Cowboys fans need another reason to feel optimistic.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry is monitoring multiple confirmed cases of New World Screwworm in Texas and New Mexico.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says the screwworm is an invasive species whose larvae infest the open wounds of livestock and other mammals.
The USDA also said NWS is not contagious and does not spread directly from animals to people or from person to person.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture (ODAFF) said the pest feeds on living tissue and can infect livestock, pets, wildfowl, and people, but the pest does not impact Oklahoma’s food supply.
ODAFF has travel restrictions in place for species traveling from state to state and infected zones:
- Any species traveling from an infested state, but not an infested zone, can enter Oklahoma with a CVI that includes a statement “All animals in shipment do not originate from or transit through a NWS Infested Zone.”
- Any species that originates from an infested zone will need to meet the movement requirements for the state of origin, obtain a permit from the Oklahoma State Veterinarian’s office, and have a CVI that states “all animals listed were individually inspected and found free of wounds.”
ODAFF said if you suspect a case, contact the State Veterinarian’s office at 405-522-6141, your County OSU Extension Educator, or veterinarian.
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OKLAHOMA (KXII) – Early voting for the Oklahoma primary election begins this week.
Voters can cast early ballots at local county election boards starting on Thursday, June 11, and Friday, June 12, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A list of early voting locations can be found here.
Election day is next Tuesday, June 16.
Oklahoma voters will decide on a new governor as Gov. Kevin Stitt approaches the end of his final term.
In this election, Oklahomans will also choose party nominees for the U.S. Senate ahead of the Senate election in Oklahoma on November 3.
Five Republicans, five Democrats, and two Independents are running in the primary to fill the vacant seat left by Markwayne Mullin’s departure to lead Homeland Security.
State Question 832, proposing to raise the minimum wage statewide, is also up for a vote this year.
For registration and voting information, visit the Oklahoma voter portal.
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